


Ignis' Knock Out Stew

by BreakfastTea



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Camping, Flashback, Fluff, Gen, Humour, Ignis means well, it all goes a bit wrong, new recipeh, stolen from FFIX
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 06:50:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19329334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreakfastTea/pseuds/BreakfastTea
Summary: Ignis comes up with a new recipeh that Noctis *loves*. It's just a shame Ignis muddled a herb for a sleeping weed.





	Ignis' Knock Out Stew

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Sunday everyone ^_^
> 
> I was inspired by a scene in the fantastic and sorely underrated Final Fantasy IX. This is what happens when I listen to Festival of the Hunt in the car XD

Night fell over camp, the scents of Ignis’ cooking wafting over. Noctis watched, amused, as Gladio attempted to beat Prompto at poker. It was a very, very bad idea. Didn’t Gladio remember that Cor the Immortal himself had taught Prompto how to play? Somehow, Prompto learned to channel all his hectic energy into a very, very good game. Gladio couldn’t wrap his head around it and watching him try left Noctis grinning (although he kept that hidden behind his hand. No need to antagonise Gladio further… except Noctis filmed the whole game for Iris’ benefit. That’s what Gladio got for picking up on every one of Noctis’ faults. Payback was sweet when his Shield had a little sister.)

Noctis glanced in Ignis’ direction. Ignis smiled, nodded. Yeah, dinner might be ready but he was enjoying this too. Noctis looked away before he started laughing for real. He couldn’t break the spell. Not when Prompto was so close to cleaning Gladio out.

Hey, if they guy was dumb enough to go all in against Prompto, he deserved what was coming.

“Oh, and what’s this?” Prompto dropped a handful of cards. “That, big guy, is a royal flush.”

The look of total disbelief on Gladio’s face broke Noctis. He burst into laughter, the sound echoing around. He stopped filming, dropping the phone into his pocket. “Nice game, Prompto.”

Prompto beamed proudly. “Thanks!”

Gladio turned on Noctis. “You knew he was that good?”

Noctis stared back at him. “There’s a really, really good reason I never play poker with Prompto.”

“Not even once!” Prompto lamented.

“Why’s that?” Gladio demanded.

“Who do you think taught him to play?” Noctis asked.

Watching Gladio putting the pieces together set Noctis off again. Gladio looked _pissed._ “I’m gonna do a perimeter sweep,” he muttered, storming off.

He probably didn’t stop until he couldn’t hear Prompto and Noctis’ hysterical laughter anymore.

“Dinner is served, gentlemen,” Ignis said.

Noctis accepted a bowl. Whatever it was, it smelled amazing. And he was _hungry,_ which was Ignis’ fault for trying to make him eat salad at lunch earlier. Gross. “What is it?” Because Ignis better not ruin something that smelled this good with vegetables.

“A simple stew, Noct,” Ignis explained.

Noctis tasted it. “Wow. This is amazing!”

Ignis smiled. “Thank you.”

“Better come and get some,” Noctis said to Prompto, halfway through his first serving already. “Otherwise I’m gonna eat all of it.”

“Be there in a minute,” Prompto said. “Gotta count my winnings.” He scooped up the enormous pile of gil and snacks Gladio had foolishly bet with, chuckling to himself.

Happy to see Prompto victorious, Noctis took his stew to his seat, eating it in a way that would’ve earned him a reprimand from his etiquette tutors. There was a sweet, earthy taste to it that he couldn’t get enough of. There was something strangely familiar about the taste, but he couldn’t place it. It warmed his whole body, leaving him pleasantly relaxed. “Seriously, Ignis, this is so good. What did you put in it?”

Ignis lowered his Ebony, his usual post-cooking treat for himself. “I read a cookery supplement in this morning’s newspaper.” He tapped said paper where it sat open beside the camp stove. “It mentioned a local herb and when we came across some during today’s hunt, I thought I’d try out the recipe.”

Noctis finished off his first bowl and went back for seconds. He yawned. “S’really good. I feel like I’ve tasted this herb before.”

“Oh?” Ignis asked, reaching for his own spoon.

“Yeah.” Noctis yawned again. He ate another two mouthfuls. “Can’t think where.”

"I'll have to make it again if this dish meets with such enthusiastic royal approval," Ignis said. He tried it himself. “Hmm, not bad at all.”

“Save some for me!” Prompto called out from the tent.”

"Mmmm." Noctis worked his bleary way back to his seat. He couldn't believe he was so tired all of a sudden. He managed half the second bowl until it was no good. He couldn't keep his eyes open. He slumped in his seat. He felt sedated in a warm, fuzzy way. It was a familiar sensation. But why now? Sure, they’d had some intense fights today, but he’d been fine until -

"Whoa, Noct, you're gonna spill it all over yourself."

Prompto's voice came from a distance, blurring like Noctis' ears were underwater. That was when it hit him. The memory of the taste.

_“Take care not to spill it. You need to drink up, Noct,” Dad said. “This will help you sleep.”_

_Noctis’ hands tightened around the mug as he leaned back against Dad’s pillows. His bed was so big and cozy, but Noctis still worried. “What about the nightmares?”_

_“They’ll stay far away tonight,” Dad promised, pulling Noctis in close. “I’m here to keep them away. You can’t stay awake forever. You need to sleep. You’re safe with me, I swear.”_

_Noctis sipped the drink. It was warm, slightly sweet, and very soothing. He smiled. “It’s a hug in a mug.”_

_Dad laughed. “Is that how it tastes?”_

_“Uh huh.”_

_By the time Noctis finished the warm drink, he could hardly keep his eyes open. He snuggled into Dad, cradled in warmth._

_Dad took the mug from Noctis’ hands. “Sleep well.”_

“Noct?” Prompto called to his friend but it was no good. He was out. Like drugged out. Prompto grabbed the bowl before it could slip out of Noctis’ fingers. Prompto shook him hard. “Wake up!” No reaction. “Noct. Hey, Noct!” Nothing. Looking to Ignis, Prompto found their resident chef yawning too. Prompto frowned. Something didn’t seem right about this. “Ignis, what exactly did you put in the stew?”

“A herb.” Ignis reached up, pinching his nose between his fingers. “Forgive me, I’m suddenly very tired.”

Alarm bells blared in Prompto’s head. “Ignis, what’s that herb called?”

“Ah… I seem to have forgotten.”

Prompto could see Ignis’ legs giving way. He ran over, grabbing him before he could crash against the camping stove. “Okay, Ignis, let’s get you to bed.”

“Something appears to be wrong,” Ignis mumbled.

“Yeah,” Prompto agreed, amazed by Ignis’ ridiculous ability to understate _everything_. “You gotta tell me the name of the herb.”

Ignis put more and more of his weight on Prompto. “Magazine. By the stove.”

“Alright, I’ll check. Let’s get you to bed.”

“No, I’m alright, really.”

Actually, he wasn’t. Not that Prompto had a chance to tell him that. Ignis was out, and that meant Prompto had to drag him into the tent and lower him as best he could onto his sleeping bag. Checking he was breathing, Prompto carefully removed Ignis’ glasses and put them safely aside. Heading back out of the tent, Prompto went to Noctis’ side. He was absolutely out, and Prompto knew he wouldn’t be able to get him into the tent alone. Pulling his phone out of his pocket as he walked over to the camp stove, Prompto called Gladio.

“You better not be calling to gloat,” Gladio grumbled when he answered the call.

“You need to get back here,” Prompto said. “Something’s happened. Ignis and Noct are out cold and I can’t wake them.” He spotted the magazine and grabbed it. He scanned the recipe, specifically the herbs. “I know this is gonna sound weird, but I think it’s something they ate.”

“I’m coming.”

The call ended. Prompto stared at the herbs, specifically the note detailing what they looked like, as well as the heads-up telling people to make sure they didn’t confuse them with a very similar looking weed that…

That had…

“Uh oh,” Prompto said.

That had strong sedative effects, and if ingested in large enough doses, could even render an adult unconscious. _Known as sleeping weed, it has been used as a common sleep aid for centuries. Especially effective in children in the form of a warm drink, if large enough quantities are consumed by an adult it will render them unconscious._

Noctis had eaten way more than anyone, plus he was smaller than Ignis, meaning the effects had to be hitting him harder. Prompto hurried over to him, suddenly worried he might be so sedated he’d stop breathing. Prompto found a pulse and heard Noctis’ slow, deep breaths. “Okay, great,” Prompto sighed. One less thing to worry about.

Footsteps approached. Prompto looked and saw Gladio. “What the hell happened?” Gladio demanded.

“I think Ignis confused some herbs and some weeds,” Prompto said. “I managed to get Ignis into the tent before he passed out, but I can’t move Noct.”

“And you definitely can’t wake them?” Gladio asked, crouching at Noctis’ side and checking his pulse.

“Definitely not. I read the magazine. They’re sedated. They’ll just have to sleep it off.”

Gladio sat back. He started laughing. Hard. Prompto stared at him.

“What?” Gladio asked. “Can you believe it? Ignis created a new recipe that KO’d them. This is incredible.”

Prompto couldn’t help himself. He started laughing too. “Oh man, we cannot let him live this down.”

Gladio grinned. “We won’t.”

Prompto left Gladio to scoop Noctis up and put him in the tent next to Ignis. When he returned, Prompto had two Cup Noodles ready to go. “Better safe than sorry,” he said.

Gladio took his, dropping into his chair. “We’d better keep an eye on them overnight,” he said. “Just in case.”

Prompto nodded, glancing into the tent. Funny as it was, Noct had way more than Ignis. Sedatives, even herbal ones, could have some not so hilarious side-effects.

It was gonna be a long night for him and Gladio.

* * *

_Noctis woke up, surrounded by blankets. He heard music coming from nearby, something classical Dad played when he was working. It was hard to get himself up, too hard really, so Noctis dozed until he felt good and ready. Maybe it was just ten minutes… more likely it was an hour. The music floated through his dreams, warm strings and deep bass finally pulling him out of sleep once and for all. Sitting up, he found himself in Dad’s bed, sunlight held back by thick curtains. The music came from Dad’s parlour. Was he out there? Noctis carefully pulled himself to the bed’s edge, knowing he needed to take it slow, test every step, not put too much weight on his bad leg. By the time he made it across Dad’s room to the doors, the music changed to a familiar waltz. Noctis smiled; he could hear Dad humming along._

_Noctis stepped out of Dad’s bedroom. Dad looked up from where he sat reading a report. “Noct! There you are!” Dad hurried over, offering his arm. Noctis took it. “Did you sleep well?”_

_“Yeah.” He leaned on Dad, walking with him to the chair. “Thanks.”_

_“That’s alright. The drink is good for all of us when we need to get some rest,” Dad said, running his hand over Noctis’ hair. “And Ignis said you hadn’t been sleeping well lately.”_

_Noctis didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. Dad knew everything as always._

_“I have some work to finish off, but how about we have dinner once I’m finished?”_

_“Dinner? Isn’t it breakfast time?” Noctis asked. He stared out the window, the sunlight bright and strong._

_Dad chuckled. He came over, wrapping his arms around Noctis. “I’m afraid you slept through breakfast and lunch, son.”_

_Noctis’ stomach gave a loud grumble. He giggled. “Oops.”_

_“Oops indeed.”_

“Noct?”

“Dad?”

“Uh, no? C’mon, dude, you really need to wake up this time.”

Confusion and nausea drove Noctis to open his eyes. He blinked. He didn’t see Dad or his Citadel chambers. Instead, he saw Prompto staring down at him, the tent’s roof overhead. “What’s going on?” Noctis asked. Or tried to ask. His tongue stuck itself to the roof of his mouth.

Prompto sat back, looking relieved. “Hey! You’re awake. Here.” He held out a bottle of water. “You must be really thirsty. Can you sit up?”

Noctis didn’t have a chance to answer. Prompto dragged him up. Noctis drank the water, his thirst fading. He belatedly realised it was dark outside, the tent’s flap open and revealing a starry night outside. The lamp lighting the tent hung overhead, Prompto taking care not to smack his head into it.

“What happened?” Noctis asked. He still felt like he had one foot out of reality. He wanted to go back to sleep. His eyes drooped, sound fading out.

“Whoa, gotcha!”

Noctis thudded against Prompto’s solid weight. “Huh?”

“Oh, man, that weed really did a number on you.”

“Uh?”

“Let’s just take this slow ‘til you’re ready,” Prompto said. He kept one arm around Noctis’ shoulders. “You don’t remember what happened?”

He remembered…

_“You really needed the rest, son.”_

Something sharp poked him in the ribs. “Whuh?”

“You’re falling asleep again,” Prompto said. “What do you remember?”

“Dad gave me a drink.” Noctis pulled himself up so he wasn’t slumped against Prompto anymore. “Helped me sleep.”

“Well, Ignis kinda did the same thing. Except he put it in the stew. And he really didn’t mean to.”

“Ignis did what?” Noctis asked. Words didn’t seem to make much sense to him right now.

“Stew. Drugged. You. Sleep. A lot.”

Noctis processed Prompto’s staccato words. “I’ve been asleep?”

“Yes.”

“Because of… stew?” Noctis asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh.” Noctis yawned. “Thought it was Dad.”

“Not this time.” Prompto grabbed him. “I think you need some fresh air.”

Noctis complained but Prompto tugged him to his feet. Noctis staggered out of the tent. He crashed into Prompto, tripping over his own feet. “Sorry.”

“Hey, you’re always clumsy when you first wake up,” Prompto said. He turned away. “Guys! Look who’s alive!”

Blinking to clear his sleep-fogged eyes, Noctis saw Ignis and Gladio sitting by the fire. Both leapt to their feet, but it was Ignis who came rushing over first, almost shoving Gladio aside in his rush.

“I am so sorry, Noct,” Ignis said. “It was a stupid mistake. I should’ve paid more attention to the herbs, doublechecked their roots. If only I’d done that, I would’ve noticed –”

“I slept for a couple of hours, no big deal.” Noctis rubbed his cheeks, trying to wake himself up some more. “It’s not like you hurt me.”

“Noct, it hasn’t been a couple of hours,” Ignis said.

“Nah, that was just Ignis. He got a nice nap,” Gladio said, coming over. “You’ve been out a bit longer.”

“That’s what you get for eating so much of Ignis’ stew,” Prompto said.

“Yeah, it was a real knock out!” Gladio crowed.

Ignis groaned. Prompto cackled, fist held out. Gladio bumped it.

“Wait,” Noctis said. “How long have I been out?”

“A little over twenty-four hours,” Ignis said. “You ate considerably more of my stew than I did, so the sleeping weed effects hit you far harder.”

Noctis barely heard Ignis over his own yawn. 

Prompto nudged him. “Did you get that?”

Noctis blinked. “Huh? A day?”

“You are hopeless,” Gladio said.

“In his defense, he didn’t know he was eating a sedative,” Prompto said.

Gladio just started laughing again.

“Come,” Ignis said, taking Noctis from Prompto and guiding him to a seat. “You need to wake up and eat.”

“Not more stew!” Prompto chirped.

“Stew was good,” Noctis said. “Best thing ever.”

“You do know you can’t have more of it, right?” Prompto asked.

“I’ll try and find an alternative,” Ignis said, handing Noctis another water bottle.

Noctis finished drinking. The cool water revived him a little more. He still felt stuffed full of cotton wool, the world moving too fast for his dozy brain to keep up with. As he sat there, already drifting off, he slowly processed everything his friends had thrown at him since Prompto dragged him out of the tent.

He started chuckling.

“What?” Ignis asked.

Noctis grinned. “A real knock out.”

Gladio snorted. “You just got that?”

Ignis rolled his eyes.

Noctis nudged him with his bare foot. “Don’t worry, we’ll get over it eventually.”

“Yeah, we’ll sleep it off,” Prompto said.

The howls of laughter that night kept the daemons at bay better than the haven’s light.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading <3
> 
> (Seriously, if you haven't played FFIX, you need to get on that. It's so good.)


End file.
